We are smack in the middle of eclipse season.  This one covers the sign polarity of Taurus/Scorpio.  Whatever houses have those two signs on the cusp will be areas of life where you will have a more powerful and disruptive energy than usual and where you may have more fated types of life events surrounding beginnings and endings.  In general, a Solar Eclipse plants seeds for new beginnings that will grow over the next 6 months and the lunar eclipse culminates recent events bringing them to some sort of conclusion or next stage. 

These eclipses have an extra special type of potency due to other concurrent planetary movements.  Let’s just outline the basic facts:  The Solar Eclipse occurred on April 30, 2022, at 10° Taurus 28’ within a 3° orb of conjunction to transiting Uranus.  The Lunar Eclipse will occur on May 16, 2022, at 25° Scorpio 18’ in very tight square to transiting Saturn.  Even though transiting Saturn and Uranus are no longer in a tight square they are still in square signs and this eclipse will reemphasize and exacerbate all the meaning of the Saturn/Uranus recent exact squares of 2/17/21, 6/14/21 and 12/24/21.  The ever-evolving story between the struggle to learn and incorporate lessons of balancing the old with the new will continue.  Your personal life lessons, as well as those in the collective zeitgeist, that started at the top of 2020 will ratchet up to the next evolutionary level.  Continue to observe unstable world events, social movements and revolutionary energy pile up since the perfections of those squares. 

The other major planetary influences during this eclipse season is a Mercury retrograde from May 10 through June 3 that starts at 5° Gemini and retrogrades back to 26° Taurus and Jupiter’s ingress into Aries on May 10.   

Nothing happens in a vacuum in life or in astrology.  It’s all about synthesis of conflicting energies and when you live long enough you come to understand that many things are happening all at once that need to be fused.  Life is about connecting the dots.  While a solar eclipse in tandem with Jupiter entering Aries, the first sign of the zodiac, suggests new beginnings, start-ups and leaping into action like a ram battering through a wall, Mercury retrograde adds more complexity to the situation.  Jupiter in Aries gives the confidence and vision in some area of life to move forward towards a new adventure and journey of understating and self-discovery that revitalizes our spirit.   The trickster says there’s a three week period of reviewing, re-analyzing, reconsidering and double checking our plans to make sure everything is in order.  Mercury says let’s not move that fast because in our haste we may overlook some important information that can trip us up if we’re not careful.  There is further research, information and fact finding before moving full speed ahead.  If we are not careful we will miss some heretofore hidden invaluable piece of the puzzle that must reach our ears in order to move forward with something that adds even greater substance, security and value to our lives.  A practical example of this would be that you’re all set to launch a new website - it’s designed, ready, looks good and you want to get your product out there and start making money.  All things being equal, my advice would be to have the web designer review the site with you and pick through it with a fine-toothed comb to make any last minute tweaks and modifications because you’ll catch something that will improve the website and benefit you in the long run. 

The awareness of a Scorpio lunar eclipse squaring Saturn forces us to face the deeper evolutionary power of the cycle of time and foreshadows death of some kind. This can show up physically, emotionally, mentally or psychologically.  There is an illumination that something must come to an end in a very final and concrete way.  The transition will eventually lead to a rebirth but not before some screaming, yelling, pain and suffering.  Some folks deal with this type of energy better than others.  Much of that depends on natal planetary configurations along with how current transits and progressions align with the natal chart. 

The Taurus/Scorpio polarity is about what makes life richer, deeper, more valuable and enriching.   It is the substance that lies beneath the surface, hidden talents, hidden powers.   It deals issues of intimacy, trust, exchanges of money, power, ownership, privacy, taboos and all things sexual.  What does sex mean to you?  What negotiations and exchanges do you make to acquire sexual and emotional intimacy?  Do you pay for sex like a John for a prostitute?  We all do in one form or another, but society finds some forms of exchange more socially acceptable than others.  What do you bring to the table vs. your partner?  How much are you willing to pay for emotional and sexual intimacy?  And when the tables turn and the sex, love and intimacy dies how much are you willing to give back in restitution and retribution?  What is that old life worth in order to extricate yourself from attachments that no longer hold the same value?   That is what divorce is all about whether you divorce yourself from a spouse, cherished friend, loved one, job or company.  You see it very clearly in marital splits when the settlement must be made in terms of cash, property, assets and possessions.  It also happens when there’s the death of a job, career or loved one. 

This eclipse season also has the potential to force people to deal with all types of addictions, jealousies and obsessions.   Those things that we hold on to for dear life because they are habitual and feel good even if they are killing us!
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Reconsider things very deeply and with more psychological awareness this eclipse season before making those new beginnings.  The snake is still in the process of shedding its skin. 
 

Mercury entered Aries on April 11 after over two months in Pisces.  Mercury is the messenger of the Gods.  He distributes information.  In ancient times the messenger would transmit news from the powers that be.  The messenger was valued for his speed and accurate transmission of the facts in order for the directives of the king, or whoever had the power, to be received and followed.  The messenger would use whatever mode of transportation was at its disposal whether horse, bike, foot or boat.  Swiftness, accuracy and conciseness are highly valued.  Mercury had to be tricky as well in order to stay alive because often he was carrying valuable information that many wanted silenced, so his life was often threatened and death could be staring him in the face at any moment.  Danger was lurking at every corner so Mercury is swift to find shortcuts and don disguises that would hide his identity and fool others.  Often the message was written, but in days before paper and ink the message was often relayed through speech, so a good memory was highly valued to accurately transmit the information. 

The Saturn/Pluto conjunction in January 2020 in tandem with the eclipses set the stage for the next six months to a year in terms of the bigger picture.  Conjunctions always represent the beginning of one way of life and the end of an old way of life.  Conjunctions represent birth as well as death.  Saturn in Capricorn represents the forms and structures of society that have formed our current traditions as we know it.  Pluto represents the death, destruction purging and eventual transformation of those traditions and structures.  We got a big glimpse of what Pluto would do in Capricorn back in 2008 on his Capricorn ingress when we entered a recession.  Now that Saturn in Capricorn has caught up with Pluto we have an intensification of those same issues in an even larger dose in the guise of Covid-19.  Saturn crystallizes and manifests what Pluto has already been transmuting.  The outer planets, Saturn through Pluto in combination, create the larger scale evolutionary and revolutionary powers that carry major ramifications and create new eras in life on planet earth.  The more personal planets, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter play an important job in triggering dates and playing out the day to day personal details required in dealing with the major themes represented by the outer planets.  

Here’s where trickster Mercury played such an important part in the spread of this pandemic and the hidden enemy kind of attack.    Mercury has played a key role since the beginning of the year in how information of Covid-19 was handed down and deciphered in a tricky way.  Planets are in dignity and debility, depending on what sign they are traveling.  Mercury is in debility in Pisces.  In ancient astrology dignity is all about where a planet has responsibility, strength and power based upon the geometric rulership schematic.   In modern astrology, there is more a tendency to make a psychological assumption that the planet has affinity for a certain sign because the planet and sign have similar qualities. 

Mercury entered its shadow on February 2 and turned retrograde on February 17 in Pisces. This kept us blind and in the dark about how insidious this virus was and how it was incubating, spreading and growing unbeknownst to us at a rapid pace like a hidden enemy we don’t see coming. We foolishly thought it was only on foreign shores. We were blind to the rampant and invisible spread.  It was moving about unseen like a fog or a mist that was hiding what was lurking beneath the haze.  Only when Mercury entered Aquarius did we realize the national magnitude and it suddenly became much clearer how bad things were on our doorstep.  That’s when leaders and the public started to take more serious government, political and global action to deal with social security. We were in the dark essentially for the entire month of February totally blinded and lost at sea floating through an unreal reality.  When Mercury entered its second shadow period on March 10, it passed over the same degrees of Pisces from February.  It became rapidly clear just how vast the unforeseen rate at which the virus was spreading and how much illness there really was. The veil was starting to life a clearer scope was in view, but because Mercury was still in Pisces, the sign of its debility, we were still getting fishy transmissions and an abundant amount of confusing and conflicting information.  The blame game was in full swing as Mercury in Pisces is highly skilled at deflecting responsibility, scapegoating others and speaking with the voice of martyr, victim or saint and sinner.  So while we were moving forward as Mercury slowly moved forward there were still contrary reports from so many officials in the government and medical community.  We didn’t know who to believe and in some cases there were out and out lies, deceptions and mistruths. There were amazing amounts of snags in transportation matters and it was difficult to know who was in charge and whose directives to follow. 

With Mercury having entered Aries on April 12th we have speed and clarity on our side to aid in getting more rapid testing, accuracy and honest transparency.  Mercury has neither dignity nor debility in Aries.  It has a more neutral strength in this sign.  Fortunately Aries is a sign that likes to do battle and is known for quick, decisive, forthright and clear action.  We now should be getting the news quickly, rapidly and have clearer directives.  Transportation snags and misinformation should start to straighten out and at least there will be a clearer road to follow into the future. 

This is only the beginning and there is so much astrology to discuss for the remainder of 2020 but that’s for several more postings in the near future. 

Retrograde Mercury has recently made its conjunction with the Sun.  This energy is marvelous for empathic thinking, listening, communication and conversation.  If you're in a positive position in life, and others are not, then this energy can help you lend a compassionate ear or word.  Mercury also sextiles Mars in Capricorn which presents a great opportunity to be assertive and push words and thoughts for optimum force and effect.  If you use your hands for creative work such as painting, playing a musical instrument, sculpting and healing then take advantage of the intuitive power and assertion of the power available right now.  

Because the Aries Moon squares Mars today there could be an over emphasis on emoting in angrier and confrontational ways for those who are extremely frustrated, yet Mars loves the sign of Capricorn and Aries so this square has the capability of great power and accomplishment.  It's a good day to be forceful and assertive and communicate in ways that don't turn people off.  

A brief word about the coronavirus.  Obviously I'm not a doctor and this is genuinely a very serious situation.  A word of caution:  the news and information is coming down while Mercury is retrograde in the sign of Pisces, the placement of its detriment.  There is much confusion, fog and haze in all this.  We really do not know.  Pisces is a sign that blurs the boundaries, inflates and over sensitizes.  Do not expect to get logical facts or answers right now.  We really have to wait until Mercury turns direct after March 10 and even more when the planet of logical communication enters Aries on April 12.  

Mercury has entered its shadow in preparation for its retrograde station which formerly takes place on February 16.  In the time period leading up to that date you will start to get acquainted with any challenges that will come to fruition on and during the retrograde and will need to be addressed and/or fixed at that time.  Pay careful attention during the next two weeks as mechanical devices may start to act funny, or you start having more interesting types of miscommunications with certain people that will be formerly addressed after the 16th.  Stuff like that.  For instance, I’m having a hunch (Mercury is in Pisces after all) that a friend of mine is dissatisfied with me about something and neither of us has said anything.  I’m ruminating on it because perhaps I may be a bit paranoid.  If there is something to my intuition most likely on the retrograde is when it will come to light and be addressed. 

Mercury is in Pisces for quite a long time; from now until April 11 (with a brief retro back into Aquarius from March 5 – March 16).  Pisces is the sign of Mercury’s detriment so it has to work harder here to be understood.  Mercury likes facts, details, logic and precision and Pisces is a sign antithetical to those principles as its style is dealing with things through the imagination, fantasy, poetry, intuition, and more non-verbal ways of communicating.  This retrograde can be twice as confusing in the sign of Pisces and much information can be left out, forgotten, erased and at its worst consciously manipulated through lies and obfuscation.  This will be a horrible retrograde for getting the truth about something unless of course you’re a writer, poet, sculptor, artist, musician, shaman, guru, healer and help people understand the truth through illusions and ethereal types of techniques.  This retrograde will be great for re-examining the emotional past. 
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You would be wise to get as much practical stuff done before the formal retrograde on February 16th.  Place your orders on line now for tickets and purchases of any kind.